The Firefighter's Hat

Yolanda Cardenas with her father in 1976.


The Firefighter's Hat by Yolanda Cardenas 7:57

"Chicago missed out on an exceptional firefighter but I never missed out on an exceptional father."

Yolanda Cardenas reflects on growing up in Back of the Yards, a field trip to the neighborhood firehouse, and a missed opportunity for her father.

Doming Newsbytes

The first month of 2010 has ended and we hope your year is off to a great start. We are getting geared up for our February Proyecto Latina and are excited to be featuring Ruth Guerra--look for those details later in the week. For now its the Sunday round-up of Latinas in the news and other media.

Chicago Sun-Times Columnist, Esther Cepeda and Maria de los Angeles Torres, Director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago
got a chance to chime in on Chicago's New Latino Political Landscape on WBEZ this week.
A quick point made by Torres in that segment is that Latinos who speak English and Spanish make make better salaries, that reminded me of a completely different story where actress Jessica Alba shares a completely different motive for hiring a Spanish language teacher to ensure she raises a bilingual daughter.

Speaking of Latina moms and their children--check out how one mom and son blog together in South Texas to air their greivances about Cesar Chavez missing in school textbooks.

Marisa Treviño at Latina Lista breaks down a new study that shows a rise in teen pregnancies--with higher rates for Latina and Black girls--that correlates with the timing of federal promotion of abstinence-only programs. Treviño spotlights a program that is striving to change those odds for Texas teens--the bottom line: Me now...baby later.

Domingo Newsbytes

Well another week has passed us by and hopefully you were able to sleep in a little later and now have a cup of coffee in hand along with your Proyecto Latina Domingo NewsBytes. Here are some links we wanted to share with you. If you see any interesting articles on Latinas send them to us and we will include them in the Sunday round up. Send them to info@proyectolatina.org

Did you know that evasive cervical cancer is most prominent in Latinas than in white women? Find out what the Planned Parenthood in Madison, WI is doing to educate Latinas on cervical and breast cancer.

Could La Llorona have been suffering from post partum depression? Approximately 1 in 10 mothers get the post partum blues after delivering a baby.

Learn To Be A Latina directed by Mary Gúzman is scheduled to open in February as part of Impact Theatre's season of theatre.

West Coast blogger Cyndi Lu of Loteria Chicana is contemplating some very tasty looking Chilaquiles. Read more!

New to the blogosphere is Veronica Lopez and her Ay Mama blog on Chicago Now. She shares her thoughts on raising kids in Chicago while Chicana On The Edge Regina Rodriguez - Martin writes about her experience getting married while in her 40's.

Please note the photo above is courtesy of thisisharmonie.blogspot.com

Join us for a 5th birthday and a little more

Date: Monday, January 18, 2010 @ 7 p.m.



Featuring: Stephanie Diaz Reppen




Held at: Cafe Cedahlia, 1010 S. Western, Chicago, Il

Domingo Newsbytes

Last Sunday, we announced that we are adding a new feature to our site. A week in review of Latinas in news. If you see something in the news that is either about Latinas or impacts the Latina community send us the link to info@proyectolatina.com



Proyecto Latina has reasons to celebrate
-We kick-off our 5th year this Mon., Jan., 18th on Martin Luther King Day. Event details.
-We are happy to announce that we have received our first grant by the Fire This Time Fund.




Ericka Gutierrez co-owner of The 35th Street Cafe in McKinley Park has welcomed Proyecto Latina into her space in the past. We were thrilled to see a recent profile of her lovely establishment and how its quickly becoming a gathering place for her community in the Chicago Tribune.

More First appointments for Latinas The first two weeks of 2010 saw two more historic appointments: Carmen Milagros Ortiz becomes the first Latina to be sworn in Massachusetts and Eva Guzman becomes the first Latina to be appointed to the Texas Supreme court.

Why women need abortion rights a commentary that explores access to abortion for underage and poor women including the risky practice of self-induced abortions among Latina and immigrant women. This got us thinking about Stephanie Diaz Reppen's powerful audio essay.

Stephanie's Reprieve

Reprieve,9:12
Newly married and just starting to try for a baby, Stephanie Diaz Reppen reflects on a choice she made over ten years ago--it was the repreive of her 26th summer.

Stephanie, a Guatemalan-American writer/performer is the Proyecto Latina feature for January 2010. She will be reading an excerpt from her novel-in-progress, You Can't Call the Indians Maria Anymore. She will also premiere a new performance piece entitled Dichos, featuring the mesmerizing art of Bunraku puppetry, and starring "Abuelita." Get bio and event details here.

Front and Center: Ahora las Mujeres

Proyecto Latina, November 2009, Ivonne Canellada unveils her poetic side and Paloma Martinez-Cruz lets her musical side shine.


A couple of weeks back Francisco Aragon, director of Letras Latinas, invited a group of Latinas, "to think about the period 2000 – 2009 and write 300 words about a "poetry event" that impacted you in some special way—that is, in a positive way." Francisco explains, "I simply wanted to hear...a perspective that was missing in the Poetry Foundation roundup.

You can read my reflection, that includes the story behind the photos above, along with contributions from six other Latinas in Ahora las Mujeres, which proves we have plenty to share.